1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an bicycle and more particularly to cycles at least partially powered by the upper body by manual movement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Manually powered bicycles, in contrast to the conventional pedal powered bicycles, are well known and have been in existence for many years. All cycles that have attempted to combine arm and leg power are either stationary, recumbent in design or encumbered by heavy, inefficient mechanisms. Examples of such cycles include those having separate front and rear drive mechanisms or those hindered by a poor match between the operator and machine through the use of less than optimum leverage and stroke. Many of the latter cycles limit the rider's ability to power the cycle while simultaneously steering the vehicle.
Most importantly, none of the prior art describes a manually powered bicycle where there is a structural limitation comprised of a ridged strip restricting the independent motion of the oscillating levers permitting the bicycle to be operated either as a lower body powered bicycle (a conventional cycle) or an upper and lower body powered bicycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,640, issued Feb. 1, 1994, discloses and claims an exercise bicycle which uses an additional crank, sprocket and clutch mechanism to create what is essentially a front wheel drive, separate and apart from the rear wheel drive propelled by the foot pedals. This bicycle places the rider in an awkward position and provides for upper body exertion which is not efficient or compatible with lower body exertion. In addition, this bicycle has numerous additional mechanical components which are cumbersome which impede commercial success. Most importantly, this prior art fails to describe a manually powered bicycle where there is a structural limitation comprised of a ridged strip restricting the independent motion of the oscillating levers permitting the bicycle to be operated either as a lower body powered bicycle (a conventional cycle) or an upper and lower body powered bicycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,936, issued Jan. 25, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,451, issued Dec. 11, 1990; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,007, issued Jan. 27, 1987, are all directed to recumbent vehicles. In the '936 patent, a clutch mechanism and an additional chain is used to simulate a rowing motion to propel the vehicle. In the '451 patent, an extra chain and a movable seat are utilized to simulate a rowing motion to propel the vehicle. The '007 patent discloses a four wheeled, rowing motion vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,928, issued Dec. 28, 1993, discloses and claims a deviant from mainstream bicycles which encompasses the production of power via a rotatable member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,298, issued Mar. 26, 1991, is directed to a bicycle in which a hand crank located at approximately the center of the bicycle frame assists the standard foot crank. The concept of this bicycle is to develop upper body exercise. However, the concept is intrinsically flawed because the rider is put in a position which is not ergonomic and which does not allow upper and lower body strength to be utilized together in a complementary manner. The rider is placed in an inherently upright position which does not allow the arm to extend in a motion which is short and powerful. Furthermore, the operation of the hand crank requires the user to release a hand from of the steering mechanism which leads to the unsafe operation of the bicycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,200, issued May 15, 1990, is directed to a tricycle using a second chain and a lever mechanism to allow the upper body to assist in the propulsion of the vehicle. The rider is placed in the recumbent position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,662, issued Sep. 27, 1988, discloses and claims an upright in-line bicycle which utilizes an extra crank, sprocket, chain and gears in which the front wheel drive is independent of the rear wheel drive propelled by the riders lower body. The invention is deficient in that the upper and lower body exertions do not compliment one another and the added components are cumbersome and unattractive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,988, issued Jul. 19, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,790, issued Dec. 15, 1987; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,790, issued Dec. 15, 1987re all directed stationary cycle type exercisers that are not designed for transportation. There is no suggestion in any of these reference of using handlebar levers for propulsion of cycles designed for transportation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,880, issued Mar. 29, 1988, discloses and claims an upright in-line bicycle using hand levers and connecting rods to allow upper body strength to assist a rear drive bicycle. The riders mobility on this cumbersome and inefficient bicycle is severely limited by the design. The overall design of the bicycle is such a radical departure from a conventional bicycle to have any significant commercial appeal.
Patent DE 3629-85 I-A, Document Number 3,629,851, is a foreign patent disclosed by Lehmann issued Mar. of 1988, which claims an upright in-line bicycle using levers which move up and down to pull on cords looped over a series of rollers to assist a rear-drive bicycle. The invention is deficient for a number of reasons. The upper and lower body exertions do not compliment one another as the levers move up and down in a vertical direction such that the motion is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the ground, which poorly matches the upper and lower body stroke such that the rider would necessarily be placed in an inherently uncomfortable position which would not allow the arm to extend all power in the cycle. The invention has added components which are cumbersome and unattractive, including the use of rollers and cords and an unusual rectangular bracket fixed to the levers and fork to house the roller and cord system. The overall design of the bicycle is such a radical departure from a conventional bicycle to have any significant commercial appeal. These additional mechanical components are cumbersome which impede commercial success.
Patent DE 3132019 A1 disclosed by Sterling Document Number 3,132,019, issued in March of 1983 discloses and claims an upright in-line bicycle which utilizes clutches, an additional upper chain wheel, and a second chain drive to permit the upper body to assist rear wheel drive. The invention is deficient for a number of reasons. The bicycle places the rider in an awkward position, provides for upper body exertion which is not efficient or compatible with lower body exertion. The upper body stroke requires the arm to move in an up and down direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the ground which fails to compliment the upper and lower body stroke. The uncomfortable and inefficient position is illustrated by the need for a support for the chest, which is mounted over the crossbar of the bicycle frame. The rider's mobility on this cumbersome and inefficient bicycle is severely limited by the design. The overall design of the bicycle is a radical departure from a conventional bicycle. The additional mechanical components are cumbersome and unattractive, which impedes commercial success.
Patent No. 22-971, Document Number 22,971, is a German Patent issued October of 1902, disclosed by Von Gienanth, and claims an upright in-line bicycle using hand levers and connecting rods to allow upper body strength to assist a rear drive bicycle. The overall design of the bicycle is deficient in the following respects. The connecting rods lack any resilient means such that when the front wheel of the bicycle is steered left or right, the connecting rods cannot compensate for the fact that the fork moves closer to and away from the crank, making it impossible to effectively steer the bicycle. In addition, the geometry of the connecting rods impede the efficient transfer of upper body energy to rotational energy. The connecting rods are mounted at the fork where the fork joins to the frame. The connecting rods are not substantially parallel to the ground. The angle in which the connecting rod provides thrust to the crank provides substantially less than 180.degree. of assisting rotational energy of transference such that the upper body energy is not efficiently transferred to the crank, providing for a less efficient mechanism from converting upper body exertion to rotational energy.
Patent No. 295-590, Document Number 295,590, is a foreign patent issued in February of 1929. Ferri discloses and claims an upright in-line bicycle utilizing a series of connecting rods to allow upper body strength to assist a rear drive bicycle. The riders mobility on this cumbersome and inefficient bicycle is severely limited by the design. The upper body stroke is poorly matched to lower body stroke in that the upper body exertion is an up and down motion substantially perpendicular to the plane of the ground. This places the rider in an awkward position and provides for upper body exertion which is inefficient with lower body exertion. In addition, the design of the bicycle has unattractive mechanical components which are cumbersome and unattractive and which impede commercial success. The overall design of the bicycle is a radical departure from a conventional bicycle with any significant commercial appeal.
Patent No. 3944, Document Number 3944, is a foreign patent issued February of 1895. Valere discloses and claims an upright in-line bicycle utilizing connecting rods to allow upper body strength to assist a rear drive bicycle, The invention is deficient for the following reasons. The upper body exertion forces the rider to push up and down on the levers such that the motion is substantial perpendicular to the plane of the ground. This poorly matches upper body and lower body stroke. It places the rider in an extremely awkward position where the rider will bob up and down as the arms go up and down to exert pressure on the levers. Additionally, the connecting rods lack any resilient means so as to fail to structurally provide for the necessity of the connecting rod becoming slightly elongated or shortened during steering of the cycle. Also, the geometry of the mechanical relationship of the levers, connecting rods and crank are deficient. The levers attach to the connecting rods at a point which is substantially elevated on the frame of the cycle above the fork. The connecting rods are not substantially parallel to the plane of the ground providing for poor stroke and inefficient energy transfer from upper to lower body. Also, the length of the lever when compared to the length of the connecting rod is so short that leverage from the lever to the connecting rod is compromised. Overall, this cycle poorly matches upper body and lower body stroke and fails to efficiently transfer upper body exertion into rotational energy.
Patent No. 7427A, Document Number 7,427, is a foreign patent issued May of 1889, and relates to a combined treadle and hand driving mechanism. The scope of the disclosure is not limited to bicycles. The disclosure requires an operator to work a double hand lever which utilizes a spring to bring it into an operative position. This requires the operator to utilize an up and down motion in order to assist the driving shaft and connecting mechanism. This disclosure involves a variety of cumbersome and inefficient components which are not within the scope of the claims of this disclosure.
Most importantly, none of the prior art describes a manually powered bicycle where there is a structural limitation comprised of a ridged strip restricting the independent motion of the oscillating levers permitting the bicycle to be operated either as a lower body powered bicycle (a conventional cycle) or an upper and lower body powered bicycle.
3. Advantages of the Present Invention
The present invention has the following advantages over the foregoing prior art cycles:
(a) To create a practical upright in-line upper body assisted cycle which has an aesthetically pleasing design. PA0 (b) To create a truly ergonomic upper body assisted cycle in which the upper body motion complements the lower body motion to create a synergism and a more powerful and faster bicycle. PA0 (c) To provide an upper body assisted cycle in which the upper body exertion of the rider places the body in a position to fully utilize leg and hip strength. PA0 (d) To achieve the above advantages (a) through (c) with a combination of means which are simple, direct, sturdy, dependable, energy conserving and reliable. PA0 (e) To provide an upper body assisted cycle with a minimum number of means which are easy to attach to an existing cycle, and which are easy to adjust and maintain. PA0 (f) To provide an upper body assisted cycle which uses non-complex and non-cumbersome means integrated into an aesthetically pleasing combination. PA0 (g) To provide a human powered cycle that exercises every major muscle group to a high degree of efficiency, through proper matching of motion which feels ergonomically correct. PA0 (h) To provide a bicycle which is comfortable to mount, to handle and to ride and allows a panoramic view. PA0 (i) To provide a safely operated upper body assisted bicycle in which the rider does not have to release either hand from the upper body drive in order to maneuver the vehicle. PA0 (j) To provide a novel upper body assisted bicycle in which a conventional bicycle can be modified by a small number of critical components. PA0 (k) To provide a drive mechanism for a bicycle which yields optimum matching of the arms, legs and hips to a high mechanical advantage, and an ergonomically correct motion. PA0 (l) To provide a simple drive mechanism for a bicycle which efficiently extracts power from virtually every major muscle group of the body. PA0 (m) To provide for the ability to disconnect the connecting rods and join together the oscillatory levers so as to allow the bike to be easily converted to a lower body powered bike. PA0 (n) Most importantly, to provide a manually powered bicycle where there is a structural limitation comprised of a ridged strip restricting the independent motion of the oscillating levers permitting the bicycle to be operated either as a lower body powered bicycle (a conventional cycle) or an upper and lower body powered bicycle.